Star Wars: As Knight Falls
by JinxJenks
Summary: The Clone Wars have begun and the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic has readied itself, bolstering its numbers with their newly acquired clone troopers. Not all of these clones were of the mercenary Jango Fett however, and as it turns out, Jedi DNA can be used to create very effective clone soldiers... as long as they follow orders. (I do not own Star Wars) (Cover by Hapajedi)
1. Order Of Battle

32 BBY…

"Sifo-Dyas, what is this about?" asked a human Jedi with short light brown hair and a pale complexion. The two Jedi masters had decided to meet here, in the corner of the Jedi archives, after Sifo-Dyas – a human with tanned skin and long black hair – had asked him to convene with him there. Sifo-Dyas folded his hands beneath the flowing sleeves of his brown robes. The blue light of the holo-books around them shone all round.

"I have talked with a few different… influential people concerning the recent invasion of Naboo."

"What does this have to do with me?" The other Jedi asked.

"Master Kita, the army of the Republic won't be able to hold off a full-blown separatist attack… we need more troops."

"What are you talking about?" Kita asked.

"I met with Dooku… he knows where there is a civilization of cloners that could build us an army." Sifo-Dyas remained with a straight face, but his voice was intense.

"Cloners?"

"They might have found a donor for DNA already, but they want to cut a deal."

"What is this deal?" Kita inquired.

"They have already cloned two clones from the DNA of a Jedi knight, with great success. They want to see if the cloning of other Jedi would yield the same results." Said Sifo-Dyas implicationally. Kita shook his head.

"No, no, no, I'm not giving them my DNA."

"They will lower the price significantly." Sifo-Dyas revealed. Kita's eyes widened.

"Why can't you give them your DNA?" Kita asked cheekily. Sifo-Dyas smiled back.

"They have already met me, so they have in their minds expectations of what my clones should be like – obviously not soldier material, being a Jedi – and it would be easier if they had a clean slate to work with when toying with a Jedi's DNA."

Kita sighed and held his hands at his hips, contemplating what he had been offered.

"So… we'll be able to afford more soldiers this way?"

"Most certainly." Sifo-Dyas responded. Master Kita pondered for a moment more.

"Alright… do you have a needle?"

* * *

22 BBY…

The Rainfall on Kamino was absolutely torrential and the waves far below the cities on their stilts were enough to wash away many buildings if they weren't built so high and strong. Master Kita and Yoda arrived on a landing pad beside the giant cloning facility and the two of them disembarked from Kita's personal starship.

"A knight, your son is now." Master Yoda said, "If war is coming, involved he will be."

"I Know, Master Yoda, I know." Kita agreed. Yoda hobbled down the connecting bridge to the facility as the door opened and a tall skinny alien with a long neck stepped out. Kita followed his elder.

"You have been here before, Master Yoda?"

"Two days ago, here I was, when Obi-wan told me of the army here."

"And why have you brought me here?" Kita asked. Yoda laughed to himself.

"The agreement between you and Sifo-Dyas, know of do I." Yoda answered. "Convened with us, you should have."

"I did what I had to, for the Republic." Kita defended. The two of them were interrupted by the gray and spindly looking alien, who ushered them inside.

"Mater Yoda, oh and you must be Master Kita." Taun We the Kaminoan motioned inside to the blindingly white halls and the two Jedi followed her in, drenched from the rain. "I'm sure you will want to meet your clones, Master Kita?"

"Um… yes, I would like to meet them." Kita wiped his face and hair of the water.

"Right this way then. Master Yoda, I believe the prime minister is expecting you." Taun We said, motioning down the hall with her skeletal fingers.

"Then go see him, I will." Yoda said before shuffling on down the hall way.

"Follow me." The Kaminoan woman said as she walked with her stalky legs down the spotless halls of the facility. A few moments later they came upon an area of the hall with large windows revealing the cloning tanks in the factory around them. The tanks were filled with a blue liquid and each with a fetus of an undeveloped clone. The cylindrical tanks were attached to rotating disks of metal that began to transfer the tanks to other areas of the facility. Kita was nervous, he would actually be able to look at himself and talk to himself as if it were another person.

The two of them arrived in front of a room and Tuan We pressed a button upon the console beside it, opening the door and revealing three people inside dressed in Plastoid armor that was just as white as the halls of the clone factory. The three men were inspecting their weapons and readying their armor. They all looked up and instantly knew who the man at the door was. From left to right all of them had different secondary colors on their mostly white armor; red, green and blue. All three of them had Kita's face, albeit they looked more than twenty years younger.

"The one in the red is CC-5553 'Captain Osiris'; he will be leading one of our Special Forces squads." Taun We noted. Osiris picked up his helmet with the red crest ridged across the top and encased his head in it.

"The one in the blue is CC-5554 'Commander Elis'; he will be leading forces into battle with the CIS if the war does come to fruition."

The clone gave his original a salute. Kita saluted back, awkwardly.

"CC-5555 'Commander Leroy' is the man in the green; he has trained to be a Special Forces commander, but is also capable of commanding large scale assaults if needed."

Leroy got up from his seat upon a Plasteel container and approached the door to shake the Jedi's hand. Kita took his hand and gave it a strong shake.

"It's an honor to meet you." Leroy said. Kita was stunned at how much they reminded him of his son, especially Leroy.

"You as well." Kita answered.

"Leroy will be in command of a whole regiment of the 105th legion, given his extensive record of success and overachievement in our VR simulations." Taun We said, before pointing to Elis.

"Commander Elis will be commanding a similar sized regiment in the 208th legion. All three of your clones have shown enormous amounts of individuality, which means they could not stay among the normal troops without complications arising."

"I can see that the three of them seem… different from each other." Kita stated before entering the room proper. As he stepped into the room, Osiris got up from his seat with his two blaster pistols and walked out of a side door. Taun We sighed.

"53 has never been a people person." She said. Suddenly, alarms began to blare from everywhere in the facility and red lights began to fade on and off.

"What's happening?" Kita asked. Tuan We looked very surprised.

"They've been called to battle!" she exclaimed. Osiris came back through the door and holstered his weapons. Leroy and Elis picked up their blaster carbines and stood at the ready.

"My Regiment doesn't have a Jedi commander yet." Said Elis, "Permission to invite you to the battle, Master Jedi?"

Kita smiled.

"I suppose I should help in any way I can." Kita said before turning to Leroy, "Do you have a Jedi General?"

"No sir." He answered. Kita reached into his robes and produced a holo-communicator. He pressed a few buttons and then his son's holo-image was visible.

"_Is something the matter, father?"_ asked Kita's son, a near mirror image of his younger self if not for his darker hair.

"Yes, Malen, war has come and it is time for you to show us why you deserve to be called a knight." He turned the holo-communicator around so that the camera lens was facing Leroy. "This is Commander Leroy, and you will be the Jedi General of his regiment."

* * *

Leroy and Malen met in orbit above Geonosis aboard one of the many Acclamator assault ships gathered there. In the monochrome hanger the Jedi and the commander were left alone by their father as he went to prepare a battle plan with Commander Elis. They turned to face each other. For Malen, it was as if he was staring at his own father.

"Jedi Knight… er, General Malen reporting for duty. I have been part of the order since birth, twenty years."

"Glad to meet you, Malen. I suppose I've been with the GAR since birth, ten years. Remember though, your orders can circumvent mine, so if anyone is reporting for duty it would be me."

"Either way, I'm ready to serve in any way possible." Malen said.

"We have 9,200 men at our disposal, any recommendations for how to proceed?" Leroy asked the Jedi. Malen pondered for a moment.

"How do you prefer to use your troops, Commander?" Malen asked. Leroy smiled and then slipped his crested helmet over his head.

"_I thought you'd never ask…"_ he said. The commander hopped up onto a nearby LAAT gunship with its slanted wings and bulky figure. Leroy slid the door open and climbed in, hanging onto the railing attached to the ceiling of the air vehicle.

"_You, me and a few clones will take this Lartie down to the surface after we enter the atmosphere, where we'll lead our forces into battle."_

"That is a bit reckless, don't you think?"

"_So are a lot of things, but with enough ships and troops attacking, our chances of getting swatted out of the sky are slim to none."_

Malen sighed and began walking over to the ship.

"Very well."


	2. Reality of War

Malen sat down in the LAAT gunship with Leroy and six other troopers with their blaster carbines at the ready. Malen was confused with the design of the rifles; they were so large – not bulky, but too long to look practical. Somehow the troopers made them work. Leroy put his hand to his helmet and then nodded.

"_Roger that!"_ he said. _"Okay men! I just got word from the bridge that we've broken through the atmosphere; get ready to get on those turrets! 43, 65, you two get in the Pin-point laser turrets!"_

"_Yes sir!" _two of the troopers said as they opened the sliding armored doors and opened the orb-like protrusions on the side of the ship, apparently those were the turrets.

"_76! You and I will be using the repeater turrets I've got here!"_ he leaned on one of the turrets that were leaning against the door before picking it up and securing it to the floor of the ship. The clone pilot in the cockpit of the ship turned around and gave an A-Okay symbol.

"_We're good to go at any time, Commander!"_ he said.

"_76! Crack open your door and get that turret set down!"_

"_Yes sir!"_ said the clone identified as 76. He slid his side of the hull open and slammed the turret down onto the floor, securing it magnetically to the ship.

"_Are you ready, Master Malen?" _Leroy asked. Malen laughed a little to himself.

"I'm not a master…"

"_When you're with us, you are."_ Leroy scrambled to the cockpit and put his hand on the clone's shoulder, _"Whenever you're ready."_ He said. The clone pilot reached up and pulled a lever and pressed a few buttons before Malen could feel the ship begin to lift off the floor of the hangar. Malen left his seat beside another clone trooper to peer outside of the ship. The hangar shields hummed with energy as they readied to depart through them.

"_You'll wanna hang onto something, Commander."_ 76 said before they rocketed forward. Malen grabbed the railing on the ceiling to stop himself from being flung against the back wall of the gunship. They phased through the hangar's shields and into the dusty air of Geonosis. Even through the sound of the engines roaring he could hear the explosions and laser fire banging throughout the battlefield. A prototype ARC-170 fighter sped past the gunship, shaking the crew and startling Malen.

"_I haven't seen one of those in action yet, can't wait!"_ Leroy commented as he grabbed the sticks of his turret. Ten other LAAT gunships hummed past their own ship, charging in the same direction toward the gargantuan CIS Core ship. It looked more like a large metal sphere than a ship, but it was their target. Malen leaned out the side of the LAAT to behold the massacre that was happening below them. With only the cover of the sandstorm, as clone troopers and droids marched toward each other, flashing lights of red and blue shot in all directions. Jedi were leading the troopers into battle with their blades of colorful light gleaming through the dust clouds as they sliced through the droids in their paths.

Commander Leroy began to fire his turret as Vulture-droid star fighters zoomed through the sky beside them. He hit one of the droids right where its processor was housed and sent it spiraling into one of the many up-jutting red rock faces on the surface of the desolate planet. The fighter/droid erupted into a fireball before sliding down the cliff and crushing some droids below it.

"_Chalk one up!"_ Leroy called as if it were a game of some sort. Malen watched as Geonosian ships and Vulture-droids began to explode and rocket forward flaming to the ground. Their fellow LAAT gunships received heavy fire as well; they soon lost two of their ships in their own explosive infernos. The bodies of the clone troopers were sent falling to the battlefield with the wreckage of their vessels. More dust and sand was kicked up when the ships impacted into the dry soil of the planet, skidding and rolling fierily to their stops. Malen could feel so many voices fading from the force that he had to hold his head for a moment. He had the feeling that it was a pain he would be getting used to soon enough.

"_Are you okay Master Malen?"_ 76 asked as he continued firing off blaster bolts into the ships flying past them. Malen watched while missiles flew past – possibly shot by the LAAT behind theirs – and destroyed two spider-walker tanks on the ground, sending their spindly legs flying away from the explosion and crushing a few other droids in the process.

"I'm fine!" Malen screamed over the battle. "Focus on getting us through alive!"

"_Of course commander!"_ 76 agreed as he pegged another Vulture-droid, clipping its thrust dampers and part of its wing. Suddenly, the pilot was hammering buttons on his console furiously.

"_Aw Hell!"_ exclaimed the pilot in his Mandalorian accent. _"Everyone hold on!"_ The pilot jerked his control sticks to the far right, and the ship diverged from its original course completely. Four missiles with purple vapor trails zoomed just passed the ship and exploded behind them. The clone beside Malen jerked back and forth as he tried to remain seated. The LAAT began to stabilize again.

"_Are we good 10!?" _Leroy asked to the pilot. The pilot turned around and nodded his head.

"_It looks like we can keep going si-!"_

The cockpit exploded before Malen had time to warn the pilot about the incoming missile. Another clone hanging onto the railing beside Leroy lost hold of the rail and plummeted out of the side of the condemned ship, screaming.

"_Goddamn it! 76, 51, Malen, Hold on tight!"_ Leroy abandoned his turret and slammed the door on his side shut as the ship began to pivot downwards, nose first toward the ground. The ship rocked back and forth as it plunged down faster and faster. Malen focused all of his force energy to level the gunship out before it crashed. The ship vibrated violently still as it glided to the ground and lurched back and forth as it scraped against the rocks below its belly, creating sparks against its steel hull. Malen was thrown brutally against the cockpit wall, scorched still from the explosion, and then he hit the floor just as hard when the ship had begun to slow. They thought that it was over, until the ship then tipped over onto its side after ramping halfway off of a protruding boulder in the ground. If the trooper in the right capsule turret wasn't already dead, he would have certainly been crushed now. Malen grabbed 76 off of the wall of the overturned ship, pulling him to his feet before seizing his fallen lightsaber as well.

"I have a plan!" Malen called out.

"_Well then do it fast, Master Jedi!"_ Leroy said as he grabbed the rifle off of his back and readied it against his shoulder. Malen activated his cyan-bladed lightsaber and plunged its laser blade into the sideways floor of the ship. Within ten seconds he had cut a large oval in it.

"They only destroyed the cockpit," he explained, "The shields may still be working, which means that we can use this as cover!" he punched out the hole in the floor to unveil the slaughter outside.

"_Good thinking, sir!" _51 commented before reaching into the back compartment of the ship. He pulled out an extra clone blaster carbine and thrust it into the Jedi's hands. Malen laughed.

"At least I'm a better shot with these than most of my fellow Jedi." He shrugged as he and the three other soldiers leaned out of the wide hole in the ship. Leroy was the first to begin firing, hitting a B1 battle droid in the head. The droid's dirty chassis slumped heavily to the ground as its allies continued marching forward without it. Malen began firing into the crowd of droids with desperation in his eyes. He hit a B2 super battle droid twice in its sensor upon its silver duranium frame, sending the now blind droid firing in all directions destroying two B1s before finally falling to the ground and being trampled by its allies.

A few of the slightly more intelligent Geonosians quickly spotted the crashed ship and made their path toward the downed ship with their green insect limbs thin as bone. The four crash survivors quickly retaliated when the Geonosians raised their sonic rifles and began firing off blasts of green energy at them. Some of the insectoid sentients flared their wings out and began hovering toward the ship, still firing their strange alien weapons.

The shipwrecked troopers killed a total of ten Geonosians before 76 was hit with one of the green flashes from the strange rifles. His whole body was covered in a green static aura as he was blasted back against the roof of the overturned LAAT. He slumped to the downward facing wall of the ship, dead from the initial hit. Neither 51 nor Commander Leroy went to check his pulse; they knew that just one hit would end them as well.

Malen heard a strange array of clicking and whistling noises coming from behind and above him, so he looked up. Two Geonosians had noticed that their top was exposed through the open door of the LAAT and they used that to their advantage. The two bug-men jumped down into the fuselage of the ship with them and grabbed at the troopers. 51 fell down with the Geonosian atop him, both grappling to get the upper hand. Malen ignited his saber and strapped the rifle onto his back.

"Duck!" he yelled to Leroy who was still on his feet struggling against the spindly, yet surprisingly rigid and strong arms of the native. Leroy quickly ducked forward pressing his helmet against the chest of the sentient insect. The confused Geonosian was not prepared when the Jedi separated his shoulders from the rest of his exoskeletal torso. Leroy shrugged the body to the side and grabbed his vibroknife from its sheathe on his chest armor before sinking the blade into the neck of the Geonosian on top of 51. Sickly green blood splattered the troopers as they threw the carcass to the side and grabbed their rifles.

"_These things are vicious!"_ 51 said as Leroy grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet. Leroy did not hesitate as he turned back towards the battle and fired at the still approaching hostiles. Malen's head suddenly shot to his left.

"Leroy! Grab that Heavy repeater turret and sweep those bugs off our windshield!"

Leroy laughed.

"_It'd be my pleasure, sir."_ Leroy said before grabbing the large laser turret off of the wall of the ship and positioning it through the hole in its floor. The humming sound of the turret charging up was heard followed by the sound of lasers flying at their enemies. The charging Geonosians and some of the droids behind them were ripped apart by the laser fire as Leroy swept the repeating blaster back and forth across the battlefield. After that spectacle, a large amount of the droid forces that were advancing on the other clones were now aware of their other targets. A few of the super battle droids turned toward the LAAT and their squads of B1 droids followed after them. Smoke rose off of the turret as Leroy ducked down, avoiding the lasers being fired at them now.

"_Dammit!" _Leroy swore, _"How are we going to get out of this?"_

Malen closed his eyes and calmed his emotions, focusing his thoughts on the situation at hand. His eyes reopened and he quickly pushed his back up against the roof of the side turned ship.

"Do like I'm doing! Now!" the clones decided not to argue. They pressed their backs up against the roof and watched as Malen scrunched his face and held his hands forward. With all of his available strength in the force, he flipped the ship completely upside down, leaving for them an exit facing away from the battle. They scrambled off of the roof that had now become the floor and darted out of the ship as the droids crept closer and closer to their condemned LAAT. 51 and Malen went to continue running, but Leroy grabbed something from his belt and stopped, waiting for the droids.

"What are you doing!? We have to go!" Malen pleaded. Leroy slowly raised the metallic orb in his hand; a thermal detonator, ready to activate and throw. As soon as a B2's leg crossed the corner of the ship, he pressed the red button on the explosive and hurled it at the LAAT. The detonator landed in the ship's fuselage beside the bodies of the Geonosians and 76, beeping. Malen was quick to draw his saber and fend off the laser fire of the droids as he and his two soldiers were fired upon.

"_Get back!"_ Leroy shouted as he tackled Malen to the ground behind a rock. 51 dived behind a similarly sized boulder. The fusion-based grenade exploded, collapsing part of the ship and atomizing it and the bodies in the process. The rest of the ship exploded with the force of the grenade behind it, sending the nearby droids flying if they had not already been scrapped by the shockwave. Malen watched the cloud of fiery smoke bellowing skyward as he raised his head from the sand. The head of a dusty and charred B1 droid landed beside him, spouting some droid gibberish that was inaudible now that its voice processor had been nearly destroyed.

"_We've got to move!"_ Leroy said as he climbed off of his prime-clone's son and helped him off of the ground.

"We should rendezvous at the communications outpost to the west." Malen suggested. Leroy grabbed his once more fallen rifle off of the ground.

"_Then let's go."_


End file.
